I think Ubuntu looks the best but it still does not look that great. All the others just look dated. That's one think I never understood about Linux distros but I guess that's what you get for free software.

The new flat look of KDE concept screens look fabulous, the beauty of linux is that you can mod it to look however you want it to look like. I have seen some beautiful linux desktop in this thread.

i think i have asked that often already, but will do so again: if linux with its various desktop environments looks bad, ok.... but what then looks good in your eyes? windows? oh please.... how old is their aero style now? 7 or 8 years, nevermind some icons are still from windows 95 times....

macos x? yep maybe they have put most time in a good style but current kde offers way more options and tweaks.

i put it that way: no virtual desktops or not having the option to shade/roll up any window in 2014 is quite sad and absolutely not anything of a good desktop.

kde's dolphin for sure is >>>>>> macos finder >> windows explorer

and for the rest: i can move all window buttons to the left/right and can add / remove many of them the way i want. most linux are shipped with MUCH more styles and themes than windows or macos. and online you can find even more.

i also dont like the dark ubuntu theme, i am not keen on unity and while i find gnome 3 interesting, its lacking some options for me.

but at least i can chose. if i could build a linux distro i would make one where you have gnome 2, 3, kde and maybe xfce installed and add a little nice hint and a screen after frist boot where its explained that you can chose another desktop everytime before login.

thats so much more the other os have to offer, and its for free. and given some tweaks, the desktop can look impressive. for me even a default lxde desktop looks better than the boring win 8. i had those tiles as a part of active desktop in win 98 already and even by then i did not like it.

but even then, if you like you can make linux look like win xp or win 7 easily, also like macos. try to customize win or mac the way. either you will need to pay loads of money for some tools i can have free in linux, or you run out of ideas/time.

I think Ubuntu looks the best but it still does not look that great. All the others just look dated. That's one think I never understood about Linux distros but I guess that's what you get for free software.

Personally, I think stock Ubuntu looks quite awful due to the default font / dpi & anti-aliasing choices (the same can also be said for quite a few mainstream distributions though, just with Ubuntu they have to take it one step further). I have a difficult time working in terminal or using Unity without making significant changes to improve readability & presentation of text. Also, I find myself spending more time changing Unity's configuration at random intervals rather than actually using it for anything productive.

The more i see XFCE the more i think about switching to it from gnome3

Visually it can look very pleasant without too much effort whilst also not being a distraction to getting stuff done - I like that a lot. I have my Windows based creature comforts; task bar (DockbarX), WinKey + arrows to move/snap windows around (keyboard key mappings in XFCE), WinKey + R Application finder/run, Steam "system tray" functionality / start minimised and pretty decent default Apple Wireless Keyboard support. I find it very straight forward to get things to work for me or as I want them to rather than spending huge amounts of time working on improvements.

My only real bugbear with it is getting a decent icon set for it that uniformly looks consistent. In the end, I more or less gave up trying different sets and put some effort into filling in the blanks for Ubuntu-Mono-Light (e.g. Steam, Dropbox).

The more i see XFCE the more i think about switching to it from gnome3

Just my opinion of course, but for me, between the two I find XFCE way more usable than Gnome 3.. Gnome 3 just feels like it should be on a tablet, made some bizarre design decisions with it. Visually it's nice, but usability took a big hit. XFCE's a little too lightweight for my tastes, but still. (I like a lot of bells and whistles, memory be damned.)

but even then, if you like you can make linux look like win xp or win 7 easily, also like macos. try to customize win or mac the way. either you will need to pay loads of money for some tools i can have free in linux, or you run out of ideas/time.

Not going to deny that you can customize Linux quite a bit.. but you can pretty much do the same in Windows too, not sure where you're getting that idea from. Virtual desktops, different file managers (even Dolphin..), different icons and themes, add various docks, even replace the shell if you want. Even in 8. Rolling up Windows? Had a manager in XP a decade ago that did that along with wobbly windows and all that nonsense, not that I ever found it useful, but *shrug* totally doable if that's your thing.

Not going to deny that you can customize Linux quite a bit.. but you can pretty much do the same in Windows too, not sure where you're getting that idea from. Virtual desktops, different file managers (even Dolphin..), different icons and themes, add various docks, even replace the shell if you want. Even in 8. Rolling up Windows? Had a manager in XP a decade ago that did that along with wobbly windows and all that nonsense, not that I ever found it useful, but *shrug* totally doable if that's your thing.

yes you can install several opensource / linux apps in windows. even kde. but what does tells this about windows? ooops

my main point was: in linux you have all this per default. worst case you have to add a ppa to your download sources to get a certain program but thats it.

as a windows user for many many years the highest way to customize windows appeareance was with windowblinds. you had to pay for it after 30 days.

i bet to get all the customize functions i named above for windows (name me an app where you can move the maximize/minimize buttons left or right and the same times adds that rollup option - i dont think there is one) you pay at least 100$ if not more because for every little aspect you need another piece of software, bet its good for the ram having to run 4 or 5 programs instead of havin all options like under linux.

yes you can install several opensource / linux apps in windows. even kde. but what does tells this about windows? ooops

Oops? Being able to install software is a bad thing? Not sure what you're getting at there.. I thought having choices was good. Now it's not?

my main point was: in linux you have all this per default. worst case you have to add a ppa to your download sources to get a certain program but thats it.

Some people have funny misconceptions about what Linux is. It's the kernel and GNU toolchain. That's it. Hence, "GNU/Linux." Everything else is third party. That includes all that stuff on your desktop, including the desktop itself. In Linux, that's good. In Windows, that's bad?

as a windows user for many many years the highest way to customize windows appeareance was with windowblinds. you had to pay for it after 30 days.bet its good for the ram having to run 4 or 5 programs instead of havin all options like under linux.

Erm there's plenty of free ways to customize your desktop too. I'm using custom themes, custom icons, a custom launcher, occasionally use a custom file manager (although most of the time I just prefer Explorer), etc etc. Didn't cost a cent. And unless they added some sort of pixelated magic into the OS, all those bells and whistles cost you memory under Linux too